Advisory Board

MNN's Advisory Board includes leaders from the media, environmental, and science communities.

DR. WILLIAM CHAMEIDES

Dr. Chameides is the Dean and Nicholas Professor of the Environment at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a recipient of the American Geophysical Union’s Macelwane Award, and, “in recognition of extraordinary service,” was named a National Associate of the National Academies. With a Bachelor of Science from Binghamton University and a Ph.D. from Yale University, Chameides is considered one of the leading experts in global, regional, and urban-scale environmental change, causes, impacts, and paths towards sustainable development. He has authored or co-authored more than 130 scientific publications, and 6 books, and blogs at TheGreenGrok, the Huffington Post, and the site of Popular Science magazine.

DR. HEIDI CULLEN
Dr. Heidi Cullen is the Director of Communications and Senior Research Scientist for Climate Central. Previously, she was the climate expert and correspondent for The Weather Channel where she helped start “Forecast Earth,” the first weekly program on climate change and the environment. Before joining The Weather Channel she worked as a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. She received a B.Sc. in engineering and operations research from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in climatology and ocean-atmosphere dynamics from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. She was awarded the 2008 National Conservation Achievement Award for science by the National Wildlife Federation.

PETER DYKSTRA

Peter Dykstra is the publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate. EHN and TDC publish both original reporting and aggregation of environmental news from around the world on a daily basis. Prior to his current appointment, Dykstra served as Deputy Director of Communications for the Pew Environment Group in Washington, D.C.

Formerly Executive Producer of CNN's Science, Tech and Weather Unit, Dykstra supervised a staff responsible for coverage of the traditional sciences, technology, the environment, space, and weather for CNN’s television, internet, and radio platforms.

His award-winning work includes a 1993 Emmy award for coverage of that year’s Mississippi River floods, and several Cable/Ace awards. He shared in a 2004 Dupont-Columbia Award for the network’s coverage of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and a 2005 George Foster Peabody Award for CNN’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. He was the Executive Producer of two recent investigative documentaries for CNN: “The Truth About Global Warming” in October, 2007; and “Broken Government: Scorched Earth” in February, 2008.

Dykstra is a former Board member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and Chaired their 1998 National Conference. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Colorado University School of Journalism’s Ted Scripps Fellowships, and the Panel for the John Oakes Awards for Environmental Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He is a former jurist for the Keck Media Awards at the National Academy of Sciences. From 1978 to 1991, he worked for Greenpeace, and developed the media program for the US chapter of this international environmental group.

MIKE ECKERT

Formerly President and CEO of The Weather Channel, Mike Eckert oversaw its growth from startup cable-television network to major distributor of consumer weather information. He also served as president and CEO of Pathfire, a software/services business that helped video and TV industries evolve from an analog to a digital base before being sold to DG Fast Channel in 2007. Eckert is an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). He attended both Northern Illinois University and DePaul University.

KARI FULTON

Kari Fulton is the national college campaign coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative. She is a Senior Fellow of Young People For, a program of People for the American Way. Fulton is a 2008 recipient of the Damu Smith Power of One Award and a recipient of the 2008 Brower Youth Award. Fulton, a graduate of Howard University, founded the Loving Our City, Loving Ourselves (LOCLOS) campus and community initiative, which works to build stronger campus and community solidarity in the Washington, D.C. area.

JOSEPH B. HUGHES Ph.D., P.E., DEE

Dr. Joseph Hughes is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor of Material Science and Engineering, and Chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Hughes received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Iowa in Environmental Engineering and a B.A. from Cornell College in Chemistry. Prior to his appointment at Georgia Tech, he was on the faculty of Rice University, also serving as Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has received the McKee Medal from the Water Environment Federation; the Walter P. Huber Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers; the Charles Duncan Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement at Rice University; is a member of Chi Epsilon; and is a Diplomate (by Eminence) of the American Academy of Environmental Engineering.

PATRICIA MURPHY

Patricia Murphy is a political reporter whose work can be seen on The Daily Beast. Until March of 2011, she wrote "The Capitolist" column for PoliticsDaily.com. Murphy is the founder of CitizenJane Media and the editor of CitizenJane Politics, a non-partisan website for women to follow politics and public policy. Before launching the site, she was Executive Editor of The American Interest and worked for nine years in the U.S. Senate. Murphy is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and has a Master’s from Columbia University School of Journalism. She appears regularly as a political analyst in national media on the CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and C-SPAN, and speaks frequently on media and politics, most recently at Harvard Business School and Columbia University. She was named one of the Top 25 Centrist Columnists and Commentators by The Daily Beast.

BARBARA PYLE

Barbara Pyle was the Co-creator & Producer of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, the world’s first animated eco-cartoon for children. She joined Turner Broadcasting in 1980 and pioneered environmental television programming. She has produced more than 35 films, winning over 75 awards. She servedas CNN’s Environment Editor and created Earth Matters, CNN’s weekly environmental news program. In 1997, she was the first member of the media to receive the world’s most prestigious environmental honor, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Sasakawa Environment Prize. In 1988, Barbara was named one of the first United Nations GLOBAL 500 Laureates. Both awards were received “for outstanding achievements in protecting the global environment.”

TOM SCOTT

Dr. Tom Scott is currently the Executive Director of the American Society for G Space Biology. Dr. Scott was a Program Scientist for the Space Biology Program in NASA’s Life Sciences division at NASA headquarters for five years. In addition, he served on the biology faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 33 years, serving as Chairman for ten years, and Research Director for five.